Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2009, published 99th ILC session (2010)

Asbestos Convention, 1986 (No. 162) - Slovenia (Ratification: 1992)

The Committee notes with interest the information provided by the Government in its latest report indicating recent legislative amendments, including Rules on the protection of workers from the risk related to the exposure to asbestos at work (No. 93/05); the Decree on the conditions for the disposal of materials containing asbestos in the demolition, reconstruction or maintenance of buildings and in the maintenance and decommissioning of plants (No. 60/06); and the Rules on management of waste containing asbestos (No. 34/08), which appear to give further effect to the provisions of the Convention. The Committee also notes the responses provided by the Government indicating effect given to Articles 2(b), 6(3), 17(3), 18(3) and 21(2) of the Convention. The Committee asks the Government to supply copies of these Rules with its next report, and continue to provide information on legislative measures undertaken with regards to the Convention.

Article 1, paragraph 2, of the Convention. Consultation with organizations of employers and workers on exclusions. The Committee notes the Government’s statement indicating that Regulation No. 33 on the protection of workers against hazards due to occupational exposure to asbestos of 23 April 2001 has been repealed and replaced by a new set of rules. The Committee requests the Government to indicate whether the new Rules on the protection of workers against hazards due to occupational exposure to asbestos provide for the non-applicability of certain provisions, in cases where the concentration of specific airborne asbestos fibres measured in a workplace does not exceed the indicated value, and, if so, in which manner the most representative organizations of employers and workers concerned have been consulted on the inclusion of such exceptions.

Article 20, paragraph 2. Keeping of records on the monitoring of the working environment and of the exposure of workers. The Committee notes that section 20 of the Rules on the protection of workers from the risk related to the exposure to asbestos at work requires the employer to keep records of workers exposed to asbestos dust or dust from materials containing asbestos. The same provision further prescribes the elements which must be contained in these records, i.e. the description of the type, the duration and the level of exposure; and that the employer must keep the records for 40 years. The Committee asks the Government to indicate whether records of workers exposed to asbestos dust or dust from materials containing asbestos must also include results of the monitoring of the working environment.

Article 21, paragraph 4. Maintenance of income for workers whose health is at risk. With reference to the information provided by the Government in its reports on the Working Environment (Air Pollution, Noise and Vibration) Convention, 1977 (No. 148), the Committee notes that section 11 of the Health and Safety Act, 1999, states that work-related health impairment may not affect an employee’s pay nor encroach upon his economic and social status acquired through work; and that, under section 91 of the Pension and Disability Insurance Act, an insuree who can work full-time in their profession but is unable to work in the working place to which they have been assigned, obtains the right to reassignment, and has the right to a disability benefit (section 92). The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the application of
sections 91 and 92 of the Pension and Disability Insurance Act in practice.

Part V of the report form. Application in practice. The Committee welcomes the efforts undertaken in Slovenia during the European Asbestos Campaign, including the training of all inspectors from the area of occupational health and safety. The Committee also notes the information provided by the Government on issues identified during inspections, including a lack of employers providing workers with training for performing safe work with asbestos; the low incident of notification by employers on the use of asbestos; and the high number of violations recorded in the area of waste disposal of materials containing asbestos. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government indicating the regulations that remain in force under section 65 of the Health and Safety at Work Act, 1999, and the Government’s statement that data on the acquisition of technology and equipment for the production of non-asbestos fibre-cement products is not available. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on measures taken or envisaged to address the issues identified during inspections; and to continue to provide information on the application of the Convention in practice.